The Prisoner (album)
Encyclopedia
The Prisoner is the seventh album by Herbie Hancock
, his final on the Blue Note
label, released and recorded in 1969. His next record would be on Warner Bros. Records
. Hancock confessed in 1969 that he had been able to get close to his real self with this album than on any other previous ones. He praised flute player Hubert Laws
and his merits on the album, also pointing out that Laws was one of the finest flute players in classical or jazz music.
, The Prisoner stands as an example of "social statement written in music", a concept album with a thematic focus which has to do with Civil Rights and the struggle of the Afro-Americans trying to find their proper places in the US society. The title track wants to express "how black people have been imprisoned for a long time." The piece was first heard live in 1968, during a performance at University of California Jazz Festival. "Firewater" should represent the social duality of the oppressor and the oppressed: the fire symbolises the heat in violence and (abuse of) power, whilst the feeling of water recalls Martin Luther King. "He Who Lives in Fear" too is connected to King's life, since he "had to live in an atmosphere charged with intimidation". A rough arrangement of said piece was initially used as a jingle for a Silva Thins cigarette TV commercial. Ultimately, "Promise of the Sun" is a tune that symbolises "how the sun promises life and freedom to all living things, and yet blacks are not yet free."
Bonus tracks on CD reissue:
Recorded on April 18 (#2, 4, 6), April 21 (#1) and April 23 (#3, 5, 7), 1969.
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, his final on the Blue Note
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
label, released and recorded in 1969. His next record would be on Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
. Hancock confessed in 1969 that he had been able to get close to his real self with this album than on any other previous ones. He praised flute player Hubert Laws
Hubert Laws
Hubert Laws is an American flutist and saxophonist with a 40+ year career in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Alongside Herbie Mann, Laws is probably the most recognized and respected jazz flutist...
and his merits on the album, also pointing out that Laws was one of the finest flute players in classical or jazz music.
The compositions
Just like his ambitious Speak Like a ChildSpeak Like a Child (album)
Speak Like a Child is the sixth album for Blue Note Records by American jazz musician Herbie Hancock, recorded and released in 1968. The evocative cover photograph was taken by David Bythewood, an acquaintance of Hancock. The lady on the cover is Hancock's then-girlfriend, Gigi Meixner...
, The Prisoner stands as an example of "social statement written in music", a concept album with a thematic focus which has to do with Civil Rights and the struggle of the Afro-Americans trying to find their proper places in the US society. The title track wants to express "how black people have been imprisoned for a long time." The piece was first heard live in 1968, during a performance at University of California Jazz Festival. "Firewater" should represent the social duality of the oppressor and the oppressed: the fire symbolises the heat in violence and (abuse of) power, whilst the feeling of water recalls Martin Luther King. "He Who Lives in Fear" too is connected to King's life, since he "had to live in an atmosphere charged with intimidation". A rough arrangement of said piece was initially used as a jingle for a Silva Thins cigarette TV commercial. Ultimately, "Promise of the Sun" is a tune that symbolises "how the sun promises life and freedom to all living things, and yet blacks are not yet free."
Track listing
All compositions by Herbie Hancock, except as indicated.- "I Have a Dream" – 10:58
- "The Prisoner" – 7:57
- "Firewater" (Buster WilliamsBuster WilliamsCharles Anthony Williams is an American jazz bassist.-Biography:Williams has gained prestige among jazz musicians as a solid supportive player. Since the early 1960s, he has made subtle swing, a precise rhythm and superb technique the landmark of his playing...
) – 7:33 - "He Who Lives in Fear" – 6:51
- "Promise of the Sun" – 7:52
Bonus tracks on CD reissue:
- "The Prisoner" [Alternate Take] – 5:47
- "Firewater" [Alternate Take] – 8:38
Recorded on April 18 (#2, 4, 6), April 21 (#1) and April 23 (#3, 5, 7), 1969.
Personnel
- Herbie HancockHerbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
— piano, electric piano - Johnny ColesJohnny ColesJohnny Coles was an American jazz trumpeter.Coles spent his early career playing with R&B groups, including those of Eddie Vinson , Bull Moose Jackson , and Earl Bostic...
— flugelhornFlugelhornThe flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus... - Garnett BrownGarnett BrownGarnett Brown is a jazz trombonist who has worked with The Crusaders, Herbie Hancock, Lionel Hampton, and others.He graduated from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and later studied film scoring and electronic music at UCLA In 1974 he won the Down Beat Reader's poll for trombonist, and...
— trombone - Joe HendersonJoe HendersonJoe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
— tenor saxophone, alto flute - Buster WilliamsBuster WilliamsCharles Anthony Williams is an American jazz bassist.-Biography:Williams has gained prestige among jazz musicians as a solid supportive player. Since the early 1960s, he has made subtle swing, a precise rhythm and superb technique the landmark of his playing...
— bass - Tootie Heath — drums
- Tony Studd — bass trombone (1, 2, 4)
- Jack Jeffers — bass trombone (3, 5)
- Hubert LawsHubert LawsHubert Laws is an American flutist and saxophonist with a 40+ year career in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Alongside Herbie Mann, Laws is probably the most recognized and respected jazz flutist...
— flute (1, 2, 4) - Jerome RichardsonJerome RichardsonJerome Richardson was an American jazz musician, tenor saxophonist, and flute player, who also played alto sax, baritone sax, clarinet and piccolo...
— bass clarinet (1, 2, 4), flute (3, 5) - Romeo Penque — bass clarinet (3, 5)